Always A Woman
by mur xo
Summary: A collection of EClare oneshots. Warning: High levels of fluff to be expected.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything. I don't own the the characters, the plot, or Degrassi. If I had a mind as creative as that then I wouldn't be wasting my time writing fanfiction. I also do not own Billy Joel. :)

**Author's Notes**: This is going to kind of be a string of one-shots loosely based off "She's Always a Woman" by Billy Joel. (If you don't know that song, shame on you! :P) I am going to try to keep the one-shots in chronological order, but no promises! I'm expecting to make about 20 of them. I've never really done something like this, so your feedback would be 150% appreciated! Please read, enjoy and leave a review! :)

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"_**She can kill with a smile; she can wound with her eyes…"**_

Once Ms. Dawes paired him up with Clare Edwards, Eli Goldsworthy was determined that he was the luckiest person in all of Degrassi. It was no secret that Eli had developed somewhat of a crush on her since the first time he had bumped into her in the hallways. There was just something about Clare that made Eli's heart pound uncontrollably which turned him into a surprisingly pleasant bundle of nerves. Lately all he could think about was Clare, even when he wasn't around her. That was why he had asked her out on their first date, which she had quickly agreed to. That was why he had broken his curfew by a couple of hours last night. Clare Edwards didn't want to go home and Eli was more than happy to stay out with her as long as she wished. Clare held power over Eli and the sensation was strange, although completely welcomed.

Tonight Clare had asked him if he wanted to meet up after school at The Dot. Clare's excuse was that she needed help with the latest English assignment and thought that the two of them would be able to bounce ideas back and forth. Eli had eagerly accepted the invitation, although he silently prayed that the English assignment was just a decoy. He wanted Clare to _want_ to see him because he sure as hell wanted to see her.

Unfortunately for Eli, Clare was running thirty-five minutes late. He was sitting, rather impatiently at that, by the window, sipping on some high priced latte that made him feel pretentious. Eli bought the drink in hopes of showing off a bit for the girl who had currently stolen his heart. As ridiculously childish as it sounded, Eli wanted to truly impress Clare, and Eli Goldsworthy never put on a show for _anyone_. Clare was different. Clare deserved the most enhanced Eli that he was able to create.

Snow fell heavily outside, thickly coating the roads and sidewalks. It was the first real snowfall of the season and it was only the first week into November. Eli's mind flickered briefly to the unmentionable thought of something happening to Clare due to the horrendous weather conditions. His hands numbly flicked open his outdated Motorolla flip phone, searching for any word from Clare. His efforts were futile, but he was stubborn. Eli wanted to call her, to see what was going on. He didn't want to be the one who caved in first. Maybe some girls thought it was fashionable to stand up their date, or their friend, or whatever Eli was to Clare. However, he didn't think Clare was like those girls and he was torn between being angry and being concerned, the two emotions meshing together to produce something volatile in the pit of his stomach.

Just when Eli was about to give up hope, after a whole hour of waiting for his beloved English partner, the bell above the doorway let out a low jingle. Clare Edwards frantically stormed into The Dot. He watched, with some involuntary amusement, as Clare's eyes went from table to table, giving everyone a once over, until her eyes landed on Eli. He saw the momentary glimpse of happiness that lit up her eyes when she found him, the look of pure relief at the realization that he was still there, waiting. The idea that Clare Edwards was happy to see him, Eli Goldsworthy, created an unfamiliar feeling that warmed him from the inside out.

"Eli, I am _so_ sorry!"

Her voice was breathless, ragged and rough. Eli's eyes narrowed, wanting so badly to cling to the anger he felt towards her for not calling or texting some sort of explanation as to why she was running so late. The thing was, the longer he looked at her the more he forgot that he was supposed to be mad. Casually, Eli diverted his gaze towards his coffee cup that was practically empty, offering merely a grunt as an acknowledgment.

"You're mad," Clare whispered, taking the seat across from him, nibbling at her bottom lip as she allowed guilt to flood through her body. "I'm sorry, Eli. I had…" She paused, not sure what to say. The truth was her parents had been fighting and things were getting a bit out of hand at her house. Clare had always been somewhat of a peacemaker, trying to pull compromises out of thin air to please every possible party. This afternoon Clare was once again trying to be the negotiator and time had slipped away until she remembered that she had promised Eli she would be at The Dot that afternoon.

Clare cleared her throat before continuing. "I had family stuff going on that I had to take care of." The excuse might have been lame, and maybe Eli would still deem the standoff unforgivable, but Clare had to try.

"You could have called or texted."

"I know, I should have and I completely understand if you are upset with me. I deserve it. I am the worst possible English partner in the world who cannot even manage to come to a simple meeting on time, never mind come up with viable ideas…"

"Edwards," Eli growled, cutting off the tirade. Clare's face was all pink with fluster and the blush accentuated her light freckles amazingly. Eli couldn't help but admire how sweet and innocent she looked, despite any animosity he was holding towards her.

"The point is I'm really sorry. I promise it won't happen again." With that, Clare extended her pinky out to him. Eli's eyebrow rose questioningly, wondering what he was supposed to do. He hadn't had any friends who were girls while growing up and he was unaware of the level of seriousness that his kind of pact implied. "I pinky promise…" Clare spoke slowly, trying to get Eli to link his pinky with hers. The light dawned on him and he took her smaller finger in his and smirked at the childish gesture which he happened to find completely endearing.

"So… am I forgiven?"

He was about to decline, to make her work a bit more for his acceptance of her apology, but right when he was about to open his mouth, Clare flashed him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Her pink lips contrasted heavily against her straight pearly whites and her whole face seemed to radiantly glow as the whole-hearted smile displayed itself on her face. Eli felt his heart melt, felt his pulse quicken beneath his skin. His breath hitched and he tried to look away, but he couldn't. Eli inhaled deeply and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Clare Edwards would be the death of him.

"Yes."

The one syllable was all Eli was capable of producing, or all he trusted himself with producing. The response seemed to adequately satisfy Clare and she reached inside of her coat pocket to pull out a small black notebook. Eli recognized it as the one Clare wrote her ideas inside. It was a journal, of sorts, but one for creative dreams and aspirations only.

"So I was thinking, for this English assignment, that I should focus on a more abstract theme instead of the more blatant ones, which everyone will probably be writing about in their papers. _Catcher in the Rye_ is so much more complex than most people realize so I think delving into it a bit more makes sense."

Eli sat back in his chair to stare at Clare, his mouth opened slightly, impressed by her observations. He could feel a small slice of disappointment settle in the pit of his stomach as it became obvious that the true purpose behind the meeting was, in fact, to be academically productive. Eli still held onto a sliver of hope that Clare had called this impromptu meeting because she wanted to spend more time with him outside of the classroom.

"That would make sense," Eli finally replied, offering the girl a curt nod, trying to mask how awed he was at her ability to fully comprehend literary works that had most girls' heads spinning.

"What theme are you going to focus on?"

"I, uh, well I actually already wrote mine."

Eli winced inwardly, realizing that he probably sounded like a nerd, or worse, an overachiever, for finishing up his assignment so soon.

"You did?" It was Clare's turn to be impressed and her eyebrows rose on her face, her eyes dancing in delight. "Do you think I could read it?"

"And give you a chance to copy my superior analyses of the inner workings of Holden Caulfield? Nuh, uh, I don't think so pretty lady."

Clare blushed as she heard the compliment come out of Eli's mouth, not sure if Eli himself knew what he had said. She recovered quickly and rolled her eyes slowly and deliberately.

"I don't really need your help anyways!" Clare poked her tongue out at him, another childish gesture that Eli found adorable.

"Oh, you don't, do you?"

"No, not at all, actually. I am perfectly capable of figuring this all out on my own."

"Oh? So you wanted to meet me here because…" Eli took a long pause, drumming his fingers on his chin as if he was deep in thought, "because you couldn't resist seeing _this_ and spending time with me?"

Eli pointed towards his body jokingly, trying to get Clare to laugh. Instead, Clare got very quiet and even the blush on her face didn't give off the usual warmth that Clare was generally full of. He waited for her to reply, but she didn't. Her eyes were focused on the notebook and her hands played mindlessly with the worn binding that was coming undone from overuse of the object. Eli wished he could see her eyes, to try to decipher what she was thinking. Had he said something wrong? Eli didn't think he had struck a nerve, but then again, he wasn't exactly skilled when it came to girls.

"Clare?" Eli couldn't take the silence any longer. It was making him too nervous.

Clare didn't respond right away. She took a moment before raising her blue irises to meet his, and Eli was surprised to see that her eyes were magnified by the tears that had begun gathering.

"I'm sorry… I should go…" Clare took the notebook and shoved it back inside of her coat, standing up from her seat. One hand wiped at her eyes and the other pushed the chair in, so it once again was neatly placed against the table.

Eli followed suit, standing up in front of Clare, each of his hands finding their way onto each of Clare's shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze, trying to get her to meet his eyes. She refused. Her focus remained on the floor.

"Hey," Eli moved one of his hands to her chin and he gently tilted it so she had no choice but to look at him. Her perfect blue eyes were outlined in red, and Eli realized that it looked like she had been crying earlier. She shot him a desperate look, one that let Eli know that she wanted nothing more than to leave. There was pain in her eyes and the normally jovial light blue color had turned darker, colder. Eli felt his own heart hurt at the beauty and pain Clare held in her gaze.

"What is it?"

"It's… it's my parents."

"What about them? Are they okay?" Eli's own face now mirrored Clare's concern, his hand moving to capture a tear that had managed to escape her eyelids.

"They… all they do… they fight. I didn't want to stay at my house."

Clare felt dumb. She wasn't the only person in the world who had parents with less than perfect relationships. To her it just felt different somehow. Her parents and their marriage were sacred. They are the ones who taught her to treat others the way you wanted to be treated, to respect everyone no matter the differences you may have had with them. They were hypocrites and that was what hurt Clare more than anything at all. Her belief system, the one that Helen and Randall had instilled in her, was crumbling apart around her and there was little she could do to stop it.

"Fight how?"

"They fight about everything. They don't listen to each other anymore. They don't go out with each other anymore. The last time I saw them laugh together…" Clare trailed off, a tiny sob escaping her mouth, "I can't even remember when we were all happy."

Eli's frown deepened and he pulled Clare into a hug. He let her nestle her head into his shoulder as he ran a hand down her spine.

"I'm sorry," he whispered next to her ear, so no one else in the café would hear. "That must suck."

Clare couldn't help but scoff at the remark. It was the most honest thing she had heard all day.

"Really sucks," she agreed, breaking away from the embrace to look at him.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dump on you like that."

"Don't worry about it."

"Well, I really should be getting home. I didn't tell my parents I was leaving."

"Okay, but Clare, if you ever need to talk…"

"I have your number," she finished for him. Eli nodded his head and smiled as she gave him a wave and headed towards the door. Before she exited, she paused and called his name.

"Thanks." Clare said, a smile once again hiding the pain she had previously displayed and her eyes once again the gorgeous light blue. Eli felt his heartbeat quicken at the sight and he swallowed, just nodding his head and waving back to her. Eli couldn't form a verbal response, his body reacting to Clare Edwards in ways he didn't even understand. Her smile, her eyes… Clare Edwards was the most beautiful woman Eli Goldsworthy had ever laid his eyes on.

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Reviews from wonderful _readers like you_ would be much appreciated! Seriously, they keep me very motivated which means quicker updates for you!

Enjoy your weeks!

xo Mur


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